I’m not much of a lover of The Twilight Zone. Realizing that puts me in a minority, there are nonetheless times when I’ve felt that I’ve been dropped there. I’ve already told the story of waking up in a hotel room without knowing how I got there, so I’ll tell a different story.
Years ago I was sent to Bogotá, Colombia to help a client. I was originally supposed to be there for a week, but due to problems we encountered I ended up spending a weekend and a couple more days there. I would have been there longer, except my manager called me and told me to get my ass home so I could go to Midyear (our semiannual meeting, usually held somewhere “fun” and during which we did “fun” things). Turns out that there had been an incident elsewhere in Colombia where an American official was shot and killed by a member of one of the drug cartels, and they were worried about me.
Anyway, I came home that Wednesday so that I could have “fun” with my co-workers on Thursday and Friday, spent Saturday at home, then left for a week in Minneapolis on Sunday. I got to my hotel, ordered dinner, and was watching ESPN (which was actually worth watching at the time) when I fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was 1 AM and I was really confused: I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know why I was there, and most importantly, I didn’t know why they were speaking English on TV. I remember actually saying, “I’m in the Twilight Zone!” and panicking because I knew I wasn’t home. I finally relaxed and told myself, “you’re overtired. Go to bed, go to sleep, it’ll all work itself out in the morning.” And it did: when my wakeup call came, everything was there.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and nothing like that has ever happened to me again. But I still remember that trip and shudder…
I’m glad you had your mind about you to reason yourself back to sleep because that could be really scary waking up with NO idea where you are!
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It was more confusing than scary, as I recall.
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Wow, that’s a whole lotta tired! I have been there, too. Tired, not to Bogota, or even Minneapolis. But I know what you mean. I woke up in my bedroom at my Mom’s house once, and was trying to figure out why my current bedroom looked exactly like my childhood bedroom.
Kim
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Minneapolis is a nice city. Bogota, not so much, but they’re nice people there.
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John that was scary sleepy/tired. I can see why with everything that happened.
I’m not a drinker…never have been but our band played a party and I was staying there. I decided I would drink a little…no make that a lot… I lost that night completely. I remember playing music and woke up the next morning in a room and I had no clue where I was at. I was told I was quite humorous the night before. I vowed never again.
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You have to be careful when you get that drunk. A friend of mine went out on St. Patrick’s Day and didn’t remember anything until he saw himself hanging by his fingers from the rafters of some bar that he had never been to…
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Now that is a story to tell.
I knew I was spending the night but that was a valuable lesson…I just don’t drink at all. I never liked it but thought I would try it that night…end of the experimentation.
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My drinking days ended when I was told I had enough blood pressure for two people and started taking meds to alleviate the condition. Before that, I did more than my share…
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Drinking never did appeal to me much. The most I ever drank was playing at bars/clubs in the summer and the free beer would sweat right through. We would play between 8pm to 3am with very few breaks…It was fun though…Some of the best times I ever had.
We were offered every drug under the sun. We got to be friends with motorcycle gangs and college kids alike…all at the same place.
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Interesting sociological experience, wasn’t it?
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Ughhh, that happened to me once and it took a bit to realize where i was and why. Now I remember this happening to me but I have no clue where I was…old age.
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I heard you can wake up in a certain stage of sleep and this can happen. I have never had this happen but I am sure it can be very scary!
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It had been a stressful time, with the international travel and surrounding activities, and I was just starting to relax. Of course, that’s when it hits you like a ton of bricks…
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Over tired while on the road can lead to some scary moments, John.
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You aren’t kidding….
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I attended a work conference in Los Angeles and we stayed in the Westin Bonaventure — a very nice hotel. I arrived earlier than expected and my room was not ready. When finally given my key (I had flown from Maine and was ready for a nap) I was looking forward to getting settled. The Bonaventure is round and the rooms were cone-shaped. I walked in, set my bag down and walked toward the expansive windows to open the curtains. That’s when I saw a man asleep in the bed. To say I was shocked is an understatement!
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That’s a new one on me. What did the hotel do?
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I was quite upset. They apologized to me and gave me a new room. Luckily the guy never woke up but his privacy was the one invaded. I don’t know if he was ever told what happened.
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I had a similar, but less frightening, experience while travelling with my sister and my young children. We checked in to a chain motel, got the key and went to the room. When we walked in and turned on the light we saw someone else’s clothing hanging on the rack by the door
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I had a case where, when I walked in, the sheets were off the bed and the TV was on. They gave me a new room and comped me for that night.
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They probably figured that what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
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wild! and I so get it –
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Waking up like that can be highly disconcerting…
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